Xander King
Xander King is the Focus Character of The New Life of Xander King. Xander starts off the series shy, quiet, and fiercly scared of being abused. He's an orphan who spent ages 8-11 going from foster home to foster home, where he was met with nothing but physical, mental, and sexual abuse, leading to him running away. He'd often be raped while on the run, and the only place he felt safe was the orphanage he'd been raised in. When he was 11, the orphanage decided to keep him there, and not put him in anymore homes, with it only being suspected that he'd been abused, and the hope that he'd not run away from there, since he hadn't yet. At the beginning of the story, Xander was taken in by a wealthy couple, Trey Scott and his wife, Linda. At the start of the story, Xander didn't believe in himself, and thought himself worthless, useless, and pathetic, and thought that he wasn't good at anything. Anytime someone complimented him on it, he thought his lie-detection ability was lying to him, and that they were lying to him, too, to make him feel good. At the story progresses, Xander starts to feel confident in his abilities and himself, as well as goes through a defiant, agitated period where he tests the limits of what he can and cannot do. Xander has proven himself to be highly superstitious, and unwavering in those beliefs. Talents Xander has been shown to have several talents in a wide variety, as is normal for a member of the platinum branch of the King Family. Planning: Xander's love and talent for planning things first showed up when Karma was ranting about how the Student Council at their high school couldn't come up with anything for Homecoming, and he suggested they do a medieval theme, since their school mascot was a knight. After they asked him for more information, they asked him to plan it for them. Since then, Xander discovered that he loved planning parties and dances, and that people were willing to pay him for it. He has also proven to be dangerous in games that require strategy and planning to win. Math: Not shown in-story, though hinted at several times, Xander is excellent at doing math. The only notable time this occurred was when Xander went shopping for clothes for the first time, and - in his head - calculated exactly how much he would be spending after tax on a purchase nearly two thousand dollars in total. Writing: Not shown in-story, Xander is able to write essays and short stories well, though his spelling is often lacking, later revealed to have been from him thinking about the spelling and sounding it out in his head, instead of just writing. Art: Xander's talent for art rivals his talent for planning, able to create masterpieces that people are willing to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on, shown primarily when he drew a picture of Luke swimming so realistically, Luke thought it was as if looking into what Xander saw, as well as when the journals of Xander drawing his past rapists in the act was discovered. It was also briefly mentioned that Xander models for art and creates it as well at a place he calls the 'comfort lounge', and has money from his artwork there. Cooking: One of Xander's loves is cooking, though he does it for others so little no one is really able to judge his skill in it. Baking: Xander's favorite dish to bake is cheesecake, and it is shown early on that he has a real talent for baking, when he prepares several cheesecakes for Thanksgiving. Later on, it's shown that he can imitate a recipe exactly just by eating it, when he recreates the recipe of the blueberry cheesecake with cream cheese frosting he loves from the Wolf's Dragon. Sports: Unconfirmed so far in the story, it is believed that Xander is actually good at sports by his close friends. Martial Arts: It is mentioned several times throughout the story that Xander's ability to learn martial arts rivals some of the top members of the family, and that he's outpaced many of his elders with them. Abilities Xander's abilties are often faulty when dealing with those he cares about, but each of the confirmed ones he has rival even Adrian King's. Lie Detection: The first ability confirmed of Xander's, Xander will know anytime someone is lying, and this only fails if someone can interfere, or if he's very close to that person and his emotions are stable. Xander believes that if he lies, he will lose the ability to detect them, and refuses to believe people who say otherwise. Eye-read: Xander is able to read the eyes he's looking into, giving him the ability to practically read someone's mind, knowing exactly what they're thinking and what they're planning. This doesn't appear to be affected by how close he is to someone, though his lack of eye contact often renders it ineffective. The first time it was confirmed was in a different story, when he second-cousin, Greyson, mentioned it to Xander's boyfriend, Dylan, but said he didn't know how strong Xander's was, and that he probably only got impressions. Later, Xander saw Dylan's decision to cheat on him with Sam and Greyson in Dylan's eyes. Gut: This isn't mentioned in the stories, though there have been hints that Xander has the instinct ability, possibly developed during the years he was abused. The only strong hint for this so far has been Xander knowing that Adrian placed him into his will, even when they're separated. Weather: Xander has the ability to determine the weather, his scars bothering him when it's going to be incliment. During summer camp in '17, Xander was able to state exactly how much rain would fall. Xander's Abuse, Friends, and Love It's established pretty strongly that Xander was abused, and he mentions several times that he was raped by 216 different people. This had a pretty traumatizing effect on him, and it took him several years after it stopped to finally make friends. Tessa Martins: Xander's first friend, Tessa approached him while he was shopping and helped him pick out outfits, then invited him to her Halloween party. Xander felt like he wasn't given a choice, but found himself having fun, and hung out with her at the zoo after, along with a group of her friends. This became his first circle of friends, and though she isn't mentioned often after '16 ends in the story, she remains one of his closest friends, second only to her cousin, Carter. Carter Martins: Xander's second close friend, Carter is Tessa's cousin. They met at a rec center for youth, where Carter convinced Xander to play basketball with him and his friends. Xander has strong feelings for Carter, and it's been mentioned several times that after he dumps Dylan, Xander plans on asking Carter to be his boyfriend. Carter and his group of friends became Xander's second circle of friends, and Carter is his closest friend. Lucas "Luke" Gates: When they first met, Luke annoyed Xander, and Xander didn't want to be friends with him or hang out with him, as this was before he felt like he could have friends. For the longest time, he was sure that Luke just wanted to hurt him, and only hung out with Luke because he felt he didn't have a choice. Several times throughout the series, Xander attempts to give Luke another chance, and while Luke starts to earn forgiveness, he often messes up and ruins that. However, it's also possible Xander wants to be friends with Luke, because he doesn't give second chances to pretty much anyone else - and after Luke gave him a blowjob while they were hanging out - against Xander's will and violating a promise to not touch him - Xander never increased the number of people who raped him from 216 to 217, despite considering any sexual act that was done against one's will to be rape. Alan: Alan was Xander's first rapist, an older son of Xander's first foster-parents. Several times, Alan found Xander in a home, and would continue the abuse and rape. Because of Alan, Xander has an intense fear of redheads. Dylan Jackson: Dylan met Xander through Tessa, when they went to the zoo after her Halloween party. They developed a crush for each other, and after getting approval from Mr. Scott, Xander asked Dylan out on a date. Their relationship has been filled with ups and downs, and while they love each other, Dylan has an addiction to sex, and Xander's refusal to have it led Dylan to seeking it with a classmate he hooked up with before meeting Xander. Several times through the summer of '17, Xander has mentioned that he's planning on dumping Dylan after the back-to-school dance, though no one believes he will do it. Dylan is unaware of this, though knows that some of Xander's friends know, and has made a commitment to Xander, promising himself that he will stay faithful and true from then on. Matt King: Matt is one of Xander's cousins, and is about a year older than him. While the extent of their relationship is unknown, Matt is often referenced as someone Xander goes to when he needs help with something. Greyson King: Greyson is one of Xander's second cousins, and is a few years younger than him. The extent of their relationship is unknown, though it is widely-accepted that they're at least close friends. The only thing truly known about their relationship is that they talk a lot, and enjoy hanging out with each other. What, exactly, they do when they hang out, however, is entirely unknown. Superstitions Xander is highly superstitious, and while people often treat him like a kid or an idiot for his beliefs, he will not budge on them. Many find it odd that Xander doesn't believe in god, yet believes in many other things, some that are seen as downright ridiculous. Sauna Fairies: The most-referenced belief of Xander's, Xander believes in the Finnish lore of the sauna fairy, a little, invisible fairy that watches over the sauna it lives in, which blesses those who behave and punishes those who do not. His belief in them is only strengthened by people getting hurt or passing out in saunas after saying something Xander didn't approve of, ignoring coincidental circumstances, such as when Luke fainted after sitting in a hot sauna for a long time without hydrating. Adder Stones: Adder stones are stones with a hole worn through them by the flowing of a river. Xander believes the lore that they posses healing abilities, mentioned when Xander's arm was injured, and he was lying down in the sauna with some underneath the injured arm. Four-Leaf Clovers: Xander believes that four-leaf clovers will bring him good luck, but that his bad luck is so great, the good luck wears out quickly. He owns a box filled with dried-out four-leaf clovers. Redheads: Xander truly believes that redheads have no souls, a belief cemented by Alan, his first rapist, being a redhead. He also believes that redheads steal souls for their 'masters', in exchange for being allowed to live without a soul of their own. To ward against redheads, Xander has four-leaf clovers sealed inside the hole in an adder stone with crystal or glass, and wears it like a charm. Xander and Adrian Xander and his great-grandfather, Adrian, have a unique relationship. When Xander ran away, Adrian spoke with him over a few days, and though what, exactly, was said in that conversation is unknown, Xander has great respect for his great-grandfather, and listens when Adrian speaks. Much of Xander opening up can be attributed to off-screen conversations between the two of them. Adrian has proven time and again that he prioritizes Xander over pretty much anyone, even going so far as to punish a secretary who wouldn't put Xander through to him, despite not wanting anyone - even other family members - to be able to contact him directly. Xander is one of the few with Adrian's personal cell number. Several times, Adrian has put Xander into his will, and without knowing what, exactly, he was in it for, or even that Adrian was making adjustments to his will. Xander strongly believes that Adrian is a dragon, and that that is why no one knows anything about his family, as well as how old Adrian really is, beyond being over a hundred. Xander refuses to believe anyone who says that Adrian is not a dragon, believing that they believe it because Adrian said so and they have no proof, while also believing that Adrian can interfere with any ability, being a dragon, and uses it to make it seem like he's telling the truth.